Better Days
by Coby Ramble
Summary: [Galaxy Force, during Episode 44] After an intense battle, Fangwolf remembers a time in the distant past when he and Flame Convoy had a much closer relationship. mild slash [by Coby]


This story takes place during the events of Galaxy Force episode 44 "The Secret of Planet X"

I do not believe this spoils the episode, however. It will simply be in better context if you've seen it.

Fangwolf twitched from under the rubble. His visual monitors flickered as his dim surroundings came into focus. He mentally recalled the minutes of footage prior to his collapse.

In the bottom corner of his field of vision he watched as a picture within a picture came into being. The time index reverted back to 3 minutes 11 seconds ago. Yes, that's right, he recalled. He and Liger Jack had challenged Flame Convoy to a battle. A battle initiated in defiance for Flame Convoy's disregard for his home, Animatros. "Frolicking". The word stung. He wondered if Liger Jack fully understood its meaning. Sure, they were close, but they were just friends, right? Did everyone else, including his former comrade, see something that he himself did not? Flame Convoy's insult wasn't just about randomly trying to sink the moral of his opponent in combat. It was a different kind of strike. The kind that would penetrate any amount of armor and sink deep into his very spark. Enough to cause him to falter in the face of combat and be defeated. But perhaps the victory was Flame Convoy's long ago.

Animatros, 300 years ago:

Flame Convoy and Fangwolf snarled at each other as they circled the clearing. This was a favorite spot of Saidos-Sensei to train in one on one combat. The natural shelf on the mountainside provided for an excellent circle of combat. To the north was the mountain wall of which the most prominent feature was the open cave face. Outside the cave was a natural outcropping providing an almost perfect circle of 20 to 30 meters. The East, South and West each dropping off to the jungle far, far below.

Fangwolf leaped towards Flame Convoy with lightning speed, instinctively going for the neck.

"Hnnnnggggggg!" Flame Convoy, belaying his large size, deftly stepped to one side and avoided the strike. Before Fangwolf had a chance to react, Flame Convoy instantly followed up with a counter attack batting Fangwolf with his tail using the full force of his dragon sized body.

"Well done." Saidos-Sensei commented, as he sat calmly on the rocks.

"Arrrrrrhhhhhhhgggg!", Fangwolf using all his agility recovered in mid air and landed on his feet, his momentum causing him to slide along the ground spinning until there was no more ground left.

"Fangwolf!" Flame Convoy desperately called out, as he watched his friend be flung off the rock face and disappear from sight.

Saidos-Sensei did not flinch as he cocked his head to the side and looked at Flame Convoy, who appeared quite dumbfounded, looking at the cliff edge and to Saidos-Sensei and back again. "Well," Saidos-Sensei said flatly, "go after him, Flame Convoy-Kun."

Flame Convoy regained his composure and immediately sprinted to the cliff's edge. Peering down into the expanse he was relieved to see Fangwolf running down the almost verticle wall towards the dense foliage below. His relief quickly turned to agression as he became aware of the ruse. Without hesitation he lept from the cliff's edge and dove into the forest below. He wasn't sure if he could beat Fangwolf to the bottom this way, but he was going to do his best to try. 

Fangwolf watched as the orange and dark grey blur flew by him, almost clipping him from the mountain side as he lept from rock to rock, unable to slow down due to the momentum. He wondered what Flame Convoy was planning for him at the bottom as he saw him disapear into the jungle canopy to wait in ambush. So, you want to play? Fangwolf mused. Very well then, the hunt is on!

When Fangwolf reached the bottom of the cliff he was at first surprised not to see Flame Convoy's gaping maw waiting for him. He sniffed the air and smiled a toothy, canine grin. Flame Convoy was far more agile and far more cunning than many opponents ever gave him credit for, much to their disappointment. But Fangwolf knew his friend all too well. His scent was unmistakable. Few on jungle planet had the olfactory acuity that Fangwolf had. He could smell the fluids coursing through and around Flame Convoy's body. A special blend of solvent produced in a chamber from within his chest. His body was able to convert the matter they consumed for fuel into the potent liquid used to feed his fire breath. It was unique among the transformers of Animatros, and the odor always excited Fangwolf when he sensed it. Maybe it was the thrill of the hunt, maybe it was something more...

Flame Convoy stood perfectly still in the dense foliage. Ambush wasn't exactly his style, but he knew it would take Fangwolf off his guard. He tuned his audio sensors in to the "panting" caused by the built in cooling system in Fangwolf's body. He knew running down the mountain like that would surely cause him to run hot. The thought of Fangwolf running hot briefly amused him. Of all the opponents he has faced in his training, none gave him the surge of reserve energy that Fangwolf did. Fangwolf was always a worthy opponent to him, and more, Fangwolf understood him. He knew what it was to be a warrior. He knew what it meant to be a kindred spark. No one could really explain or understand the bond between them, but why question it, he thought. It was enough that they could enjoy what they had.

Fangwolf stalked his prey as easily as he moved through the jungle floor without making so much as a sound. Although he prefered to hunt with others, he knew that he could surprise Flame Convoy and get the first strike. He had waited until his internal systems cooled before proceeding, knowing that he had to be as quiet as possible. As he followed the scent, he thought about the amazing way he and his kind were put together. He often wondered how his race came to be. How they appeared on this world and where they came from. Some of the wise elders claim all transformers were created by the heart of the planet itself. Others say they decended from the heavens themselves and made Animatros their home. While others still believe they simply came to be, through the natural course of evolution on the planet. Such mysteries, while intriguing, were better left to philosphers Fangwolf reckoned. He was a warrior, not a sage, and needed to be on his guard.

As suddenly as that last thought processed, he realized it was already too late. He could feel his outer skin buckle under the emmense presure of Flame Convoy's maw as he was lifted violently off the ground.

"Hnnnnnng!" as Flame Convoy was fond of exclaiming in the heat of combat, was all the sound he made as he thrashed his head from side to side digging deeper into Fangwolf's body.

Fangwolf was in great pain, but what he thought was perhaps a flaw in his programming, he somewhat enjoyed the sensation. Like so much else about Flame Convoy, every experience seemed unique. He chuckled, even as hydraulic fluid dripped out of his mouth, as he felt the bitterness of his error, and the satisfaction of the feeling of Flame Convoy's jaws holding him tightly.

Flame Convoy also enjoyed this, but he never could quite understand why he did. Many times in the past he could have quickly defeated Fangwolf in combat, and many times he would prolong the battle, prolong the physical contact between them. He loosened his grip slightly so as not to hurt his dear friend too badly. "Do you give up?" he muttered, with his mouth full, Fangwolf's fluids running down his chin and glistening along his neck. 

Fangwolf let out a cough, "You haven't beaten me yet, my friend" he bluffed. For him this was both the best place and the worst place he could be. Worst, if only for the fact that he couldn't quite work out how he would escape.

At that moment, he spotted movement on the edge of his field of vision. Turning to focus on the source, he was horrorfied to see the tentacle like vines of one of Animatros' vicous plant species decending from an above branch. "Flame Convoy!" he shouted, "Behind you!"

The natural reaction for Flame Convoy would be to dismiss this as a feeble ploy, but he knew Fangwolf intimately and knew such petty tactics of dishonor were beneath him. He immediately released his grip sending Fangwolf crashing to the ground. In the same fluid motion he spun around to face the danger his companion had warned him of, unleashing a belch of toxic flame upon the vines. The thorny appendages almost seemed to scream as they were seared into ash with his flame breath. More vines descended but they were no match for the razor sharp claws and the burning fire of Flame Convoy.

Sadly, they were more than a match for the already injured Fangwolf. Without even the chance for a muffled scream Fangwolf was pulled high into the branches and into the toothy maw of a hideous bulb of green flesh. Flame Convoy watched in horror as his friend was sucked from sight in an instant. "Fangwolf!" He pleaded, but there was no answer. "FANGWOLF! HNNNNGGG!" he screamed again in desperation, but there were only the disgusting squishing sound of the plant bulb as it began to secrete its digestive fluid.

"Fang... wolf...!" the world seemed to move in slow motion. He could feel his fuel pump, perhaps his very spark, pulsating. Each beat brought him closer and closer... Thump... He recalled the moment he first met Fangwolf and how he underestimated his skills as a warrior... Thump... he remembered what it was like to playfully nip at him in the fields with his jaws, gently nibbling and pushing him away with his snout as they sparred for fun... Thump... he remembered the time Fangwolf gave Saidos-Sensei his reccomendation to be trained in the art of peaceful combat... Thump... he knew how much Fangwolf meant to him, and that he would do anything to protect him...

At that instant, it was as if he was in perfect sync with the world around him. He felt a burst of energy that he never knew was possible, driven by his emotions for his companion. The heavens themselves seemed to open up and bathed him with the bright green energy of the world itself, a very peice of the lifeforce of the planet.

From the top of the hill, Saidos sat as he saw the burst of energy arise from deep within the unexplored regions of the jungle and arc to just below the cliffside. Onlookers from all directions witnessed this burst of energy and began to murmur among themselves as to what it could be.

"Force chip... Ignition!" he called out, almost instinctively. Was this a gift from the gods? Was this a sign of something greater? Or was it simply the love of the one who meant most to him? He didn't have time to reflect on an answer to those questions as he felt his very body being reformatted. From within himself two more dragon heads emerged. Using his new found powers he started to tear the vines away with his two adjacent smaller heads while he focused his full fury on the pulsating sack of putrid stink that held his beloved in its deadly grasp.

Within moments the plant creature was dispatched, while Fangwolf lay on the jungle floor having been expelled from the sack. He was covered in digestive fluid and the scarring on his outer skin would take sometime to self repair. His eye opened slightly as the whirr of servos began to focus, bringing the world into view.

"F-f-Flame.. Conv.. guurrk... you.. saved my life..." he managed to articulate, despite his damage."I never meant to b.. betray you..."

"Save ya?", Liger Jack's voice boomed. "He's the one who put ya under in the first place!"

Fangwolf regained his composure. This wasn't three centuries ago, and he wasn't on Animatros. This was now. And the fate of the universe was at stake. Liger Jack would never know why he cared so much for Flame Convoy. He could never know, nor could he ever truly understand.

The End.


End file.
